On Saturday, Oct. 29, the Shepherdstown Volunteer Fire Department hosted their 27th annual Apple Butter Festival. The event, which was held at the fire station off Route 45, was an all-day event to raise money for the department.

Denny Barron, the treasurer of the Shepherdstown Fire Department, said that the festival is their biggest fundraising event.

“We make over $20,000 during the week-long activity. After today the apple butter will be for sale in the office of the Jefferson Security Bank as well as Betty’s Restaurant here in town,” Barron said.

Barron said that although the festival was held on Saturday, the process of making the butter started at the beginning of the week.

“We premade 1,600 quarts before today and we hope to make over 4,000 all together,” Barron added.

The first year of the festival in 1990, the fire department produced eight to 10 kettles of apple butter total.

The company now produces around 30 kettles each year.

Barron said this year they used 210 of apples, a little over 100 cases of applesauce and 3,200 pounds of Domino Sugar to produce over 4,000 quarts of butter.

Taryn Morgan, 28, said that he has been volunteering with the event for over 10 years.

“My uncle is the chief and my dad and cousin are firefighters. There are about 12 of us here right now,” Morgan said, “This is a way to help raise money for supplies and stuff but it also brings people together. I see people here that I only see once a year, so it’s fun.”

Chris Hughes, a festival volunteer from Crofton, Maryland, said that the event has become a family tradition.

“My wife’s from Shepherdstown and her parents have been volunteers with the department for over 20 years. This has just become a family thing that we do every year,” Hughes added.

Shepherdstown Fire Department’s apple butter is still for purchase at Betty’s Restaurant and the Jefferson Security Bank. The apple butter is being sold for $8 a quart with both sugar and sugar free options.